Australian Debt Market
Lures Local Companies

SYDNEY -- An increasingly favorable climate in the Australian corporate-bond market is luring local companies back home to issue debt amid predictions the domestic environment will outperform global markets.

Competitive credit spreads have boosted kangaroo issuance in recent months, as highlighted by U.S. retail bank Wells Fargo & Co.'s record A$2 billion, or about US$1.5 billion, issue in July.